Monday, July 2, 2012

Famous Cullinan Diamond stones on show together for 1st time

As part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this summer Buckingham Palace will
be opening its doors for a rare display of the Queen’s diamonds.
Opening on June 30 and running to October 7, priceless jewels including
the Queen’s tiaras, crowns and jewellery will be available for the
public to see.
The exhibition will also bring together seven of the nine principal stones of the world’s largest diamond, South Africa’s Cullinan Diamond,
for the first time in history. The other two remaining pieces are found
in the Queen’s crown and sceptre, which are kept in the Tower of
London.
The famous diamond was mined in South Africa in 1905. Weighing 3,106
carats in its rough state, its huge size defied its true nature. Clerks
believed it was a crystal and so initially disposed of it, not believing
that it was possible to get a diamond of that size.
Exhibit curator Caroline de Guitaut described it as “a truly
exceptional diamond, both in terms of its size but also in terms of its
clarity and colour. It is completely flawless and has a wonderful
blue-white colour.”
The diamond was divided into nine principal stones and has been used
in various settings over the years, including a pendant as part of the
Dehli Durbar Necklace of diamonds and emeralds, a 21st
birthday gift given to the Queen in 1947, and also a huge pear-shaped
brooch which the Queen wore for the Service of Thanksgiving on 5 June
during the Jubilee weekend.
The exhibition, including the Cullinan pieces, will comprise more
than 10,000 diamonds worn by six different monarchs over three
centuries.